i wasn't born in a barn, but i got there as fast as i could.

You know that feeling when there’s 2148734 different things going on and all you want to do is hibernate for 7-8 weeks? Yeah, I’m there. Totally there.

Not with Frankie though- never with Frankie. He’s my decompression and therapy time to handle the burnout. We’ve had a series of great lessons lately where our flatwork is getting more and more refined, and we’re asking him to really turn ‘n burn around some sharper rollbacks.

Which is great, because our big move-up is coming up on the 17th! We’re headed to a venue in Maryland for our official debut in the 1.10m High Adults. It will be Frankie’s first indoor show, his first time showing out of a trailer instead of having a stall, and our first time at this new height- somehow, I don’t think any of this will bother him at all. He has never blinked at any ring/commotion, he hops on and off the trailer with no hesitation, and he’s been rocking the bigger jumps in lessons lately. We’re hoping to get some points towards qualifying for the Zone 3 USHJA AA Jumper Finals in August.

I thought I would be more nervous for this move up, but really I’m just excited. I feel ready. And that actually surprises me- we bought Frankie to be my 1.10m horse eventually, I just thought it would take a year or two to get there instead of 8 months. I didn’t expect to feel prepared quite yet. But as my trainer said, why wait around if we’re ready? It’s the start of a new show season and we’ve got some new goals to pursue, so let’s go out and chase them.

So lots of excitement around that. Which is really really great, because I kinda need that to keep me going right now amid the craziness at work and holiday season and random “stuff” that always seems to pop up around this time of year.

Apologies in advance if the blog goes a bit quieter than usual this month- Frankie will be helping me past the burnout ❤